Gifts and Grace

Weeks have been rapidly flying by here in our household. We finished school in June and have had a few weeks off, but beginning next week, we will have our new school year begin. I can hardly believe Ana will be in 4th grade and Lil will be in 2nd grade. As E-baby will not be 5 until the end of September we will not be doing Kindergarten with him this year, but will continue to do the preschool program we are currently working on. I am looking forward to seeing how God's grace will be at work in my life and the children's lives as we journey through another school year. I really have some goals I would like to see accomplished, however, I am praying mostly for God's goals to be accomplished in the lives of each one in our family.
A few weeks ago, we were up visiting my family and I was able to finish the book, "One thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I can't begin to tell you how much this book challenged, encouraged, convicted, and humbled me. I often do not look for the gifts or even God as I am going throughout my day. I usually focus on either the good or the bad. I have been challenged to turn my life into a daily focus on Thanksgiving and seeking to see God's grace in each circumstance I face. I want my life to be a mirror of Christlikeness and I am convinced that one of the key focus's of life need to be Thankfulness. I am praying for the Lord to continue to direct my ways and paths and that He would lead me daily in the Truth of His Word.
God's grace has been continued to be magnified through the gift of our 6th child. I am currently 15 weeks pregnant and things are going quite smoothly. I have another appointment next week which is the same gestation when we lost our first son, Nathan Joel. I am anxious to have that over with... We have our next ultrasound in 3 weeks! I am looking forward to seeing our precious baby again and hopefully finding out which gender this baby will be! I really don't care if it's a boy or a girl, although we have done things in 2's so a girl would be neat, but a boy would be good because it seems like I do better carrying boys. Either way, we will see when we go! I am getting more and more used to the idea of having 6, although I am still nervous about trying to get a new vehicle and schooling this year. I know the Lord has it all worked out...it's just hard for me, the constant worrier to let my "controling nature" go on the wayside and trust God will provide. I am again, learning to trust in a new way, and I am excited to see how God will work.
That is all I have to share now, Looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store next.